THE DOBERMAN PINSCHER
1. How many years in Dobermans? Do you judge? Also tell us a little about yourself: Where you live, what you do for a living, what you do outside of dogs.? 2. Who was your mentor? What did he/she teach you that you value most highly? 3. Your opinion of the current quality of purebred dogs in general, and your breed in particular. 4.. What is the biggest health concern facing the breed today? 5. The biggest problem facing you as a breeder? 6. Advice to a new breeder? 7. Advice to a new judge of your breed? 8. What’s the most common fault you see when travel- ing around the country? 9. How has the docking/cropping controversy affected you? 10. What’s more important to you, a win at an all- breed show or at a Specialty? 11. What’s your favorite dog show memory? 12. And for a bit of humor, what’s the funniest thing that you ever experienced at a dog show? 13. Anything else you’d like to share? DR. MARY- HELENE (MIMI) BROWN I live in Phoenix, Arizona. I retired in 2016 after 37 years as an OB/GYN Dr. I am the current president of the Dober- man Pinscher Club of America. I judged intersex at our 2016 National specialty and found a great depth of quality Dobermans. My biggest concern is Dilated Cardiomyopathy and the decreasing longevity of our Dobermans because of it. Biggest problem as a breeder is finding owners that want a multidimensional dog. Dobermans need to have a job to do and excel in many venues. They are not just house pets. They are working dogs. Advice to new breeders: Look at health testing and talk to your mentors, but don’t just base breeding on test results. Breed for the total Doberman. Breed for phenotypic appear- ance and good temperament and working ability. Advice to new judges: Apply our standard, as you do with any other breed you judge. Look for a balanced dog, medium size, square, with a correct head.
Most common fault I see when traveling is long bodies, snipey muzzles, straight fronts, over angulated rears, lack of bone and substance. Dobermans are a wonderful breed to share your life with. You will never go to the bathroom alone again. MARGARITA FILES I currently live in Illinois and outside of dogs, I care for my parents. I feel the current quality is not great. It’s not horrible but I do feel that we as breeders should do more to improve the breed. Research is needed to produce better quality. If you own a bitch the first question you need to ask yourself is how can I improve her? whether it be health, temperament or con- formation. That’s the foundation for this breeding. Then you start your search for the best stud dog for her. Not the dog of the day, or the top dog that is winning. This is not the fix for every bitch. I have two concerns one is DCM, my opinion is easy use the test as a tool. We also need to use the pedigree to deter- mine where the DCM is in the genetics and not breed it so close together. we don’t breed VWD affected together or VWD affected to carriers together so why do we do it with two animals that may each have a parent that died from this dreadful disease. The other concern is the strait fronts. There is nothing more unappealing to me than a straight front. The biggest problem facing me as a breeder is health. My advice to a new breeder and to a new judge is to get a good mentor. The most common fault I see when traveling around the country is bad fronts and gay tails. Love your breed with all your heart. Breed like this may be your last litter. Always try to move forward and most of all remember you cannot fix every problem with one breeding. Not all puppies in a litter have to be shown and bred. Years ago I had my girl Blue MOA’s once ina blue moon. I was just starting and was told that my bitch always need to relieve herself prior to going into the ring. So I matched her and put her in a public x-pen. Well Blue was not having any of that and refused to go so I put another match in, she will still not go. Another match. Finally she goes but, oh my god, was she mad. I gave her to my handler, they went in the ring and she showed like something I had just untied her from a tree. My handler gave her back to me and asked what was wrong with her. I told him what I had done and he laughed. S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , A PRIL 2019 • 289
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